Sekan (Salmak Language)
Sekan, the Salmak name for their language, translates to "The Tongue," in Imperial. It is the proper language of magic, just as Latin was once the proper language of Catholic religious ceremony on Earth. Pronunciation The "k" sound in Sekan is pronounced somewhat like a cat hissing. Instead of blocking off your air flow like you normally do at the end of a "k" sound, allow it to keep flowing like you do when pronouncing an "h" sound. It's similar to the "ch" sound in chutzpah or in the German word achtung. The "sz" sound is pronounced like a close-mouthed "j" sound. Put your front teeth together like you're going to say "sh," but instead try to say a "j" while keeping your mouth completely closed. This will produce the buzzing sensation and sound you need. "R" sounds are always rolled. Be careful to roll them only once. Continuing to roll an "r" is a sign of aggression among Salmak. Most of the vowel sounds are pronounced differently from Imperial ones. Below is a list of Sekan vowel sounds and their equivalencies in Imperial. Sekan vowel sounds are all cut short instead of elongated. y = ee a = ah e = eh The "o" sound appears infrequently, and is generally pronounced as a slightly narrower "ah." Inflection The higher the rank of the person a Salmak is speaking to, the more his or her speech begins to sound like a stage whisper. If a Salmak is speaking to you in a full voice, it is likely that he or she considers you an equal at the very least. If a Salmak is speaking loudly, this is likely a sign of disdain, anger, or both. Speaking rapidly, enunciating firmly, and rolling your r's more than once are all considered signs of aggression or at least passion. Salmak do not have a questioning tone. Instead, they angle their heads slightly to the side when they ask a question. Pronouns/Possessives Salmak pronouns double as possessives. Possessive pronouns are attached to the end of nouns. Tak: '''him, he, his, it, its '''Rash: '''her, she, her(s) '''Y: '''I, me, my '''Ym: '''we, us, our '''Takym: '''them, they, their Verbs Tenses There are two prefixes used to denote tenses other than present. These prefixes are ''ti ''and ''la, ''representing past and future, respectively. '''Aftykth: To Rule Aftyneth: To Age Alfryth: '''To Remember '''Alfykth: To Smith Alnalath: To Win Alnaseth: To Give Alnath: To Hold, To Keep Anteth: To Lead Antath: '''To Be Ready '''Aranath: To Return Asketh: To Praise Aszyketh: To Help, To Aide Elnyrath: To Travel (esp. between countries) Entath: To Love Eszalath: To Laugh Falnath: To Purify Falnath: To Dwell, To Inhabit (alternately “To Live”) Fekleth: To Heal Felnath: To Cut Fyfteth: To Set Free Fyklath: To Fight, To Hit Fyntath: To Be Happy Fyskath: To Lift Kaneth: To Arrive Kasketh: To Bind, or To Group Keftath: To Earn, To Gain Kekteth: To Kill Leklath: To Learn Lonteth: To Swear, To Give Oath Nykareth: To Eat Nyntath: To Grow Naszyth: To Shine Nyfteth: To Farm, To Harvest Reklyth: To Ride Rekath: '''To Break '''Sekteth: To Speak Talnath: To Open Telnath: To Run Yftath: To Rise (alt. To Fly) Yfth: To Bless Ylnojoth: To Want, To Desire Ynteth: To Pray Yth: '''To Be Articles There are only two articles in Sekan. '''Kan: '''that, that one '''Kym: '''those, those ones Nouns '''Aftykar: king, ruler Alan: gift Alar: traveler Alnafyr: a smith Alnafyrak: a smithy Alnalak: victory Alner: a noble Alnerak: nobility, the quality of nobleness Anter: a leader Anor: traitor Anrashyr: female Antaklan: male Asken: compliment Crepak: refuse, garbage, excrement Elnamek: fortress, stronghold Enek: love Ener: '''a lover '''Entalyn: '''knifebird '''Eskan: earth, ground, land Falak: justice Faler: a healer Felnon: knife Fyklen: a fight, a battle Fyklenak: war Fyklenar: enemy, opponent, adversary Fyntajan: staff Fyrken: sky Fylan: stemlilly Fyskan: '''strength '''Jolnak: counsel Jolnyr: counselor (When capitalized, refers to the village's official wise person, judge, counselor, and arbiter.) Jyntarar: daughter Jyntaror: son Kaftan: fell bear Kasken: rope Kaskenor: twin Kaskenek: prison, jail Kaften: currency, money Keklak: peace Kyfter: stranger, outsider Kyklen: spear Kylnar: a guard Kyn: prayer Lanen: oath Lantek: loyalty Naftyn: rockrunner Naklyn: scaledog Naktan: mountain Nirak: mercy Nyntan: flower Nasek: muteness, silence Naseker: a mute, one who is mute, silent one Neszalak: power Nyf: a harvest Nynan: curse Nyntan: sword Paftan: forest Rafan: fire Reftan: rock, stone Reklan: a strider Sakan: blood Saken: '''water '''Selyn: star Sentyn: pearl Shathrakan: shadow Sylnen: servant, slave Szaran: arrow Szasak: emptiness Szyfan: darkwolf Talnon: gate Telnon: speed Thralan: rose Uscek: will Yfan: '''blessing '''Ylnojon: a desire Yshan: prowler Yynan: home Adverbs Adjectives Adjectives are always placed after the words they modify. Alasam: thin, wiry Alneram: noble Falakam: just Fardokam: '''hairy '''Karsanam: blind Keklakam: peaceful Kyftenam: strange, foreign Narkam: foolish Naszam: '''bright, shining '''Nirakam: merciful Nasekam: mute, silent Nek: more Neszalakam: powerful Nynaram: '''cursed '''Rafanam: fiery, hot Reftonam: strong Sakanam: bloody Szazakam: empty Yfanam: blessed Ylnojonam: desired, or desirable Prepositions Aka: over/above Ake: upon Ata: under/below Fera: for Feratha: before Kare: by Kela: of Taro: '''in '''Neka: '''against Constructing Sentences Salmak sentences begin with an object or objective clause. For this example sentence, our object will be '''Almalak, which means "victory." Almalak Next we're going to add an adjective to make an objective clause. Adjectives always follow the noun the modify. Our adjective will be Sakanam, which means "bloody" Almalath sakanam Next comes the subject of the sentence. In this case, we're going to make it Y, '''which means "I" '''Almalak sakanam y Verbs follow the nouns the modify, but come after adjectives. In this case, Y '''has no adjective following it, so we'll put the verb right next to it. Our verb will be '''Keftath, which means "to gain." We'll use the prefix ti '''to make it past tense. '''Almalak sakanam y ti-keftath. This sentence would be complete on its own, meaning "I gained a bloody victory." However, we're going to make things a bit more complicated by adding to the objective clause. At this point a true Salmak would want to know the name of the person or persons you gained a bloody victory over, so we're going to add neka, which means "against" Almalak sakanam neka y ti-keftath. Now the sentence doesn't make sense, so we're going to put in a Salmak name. Salmak names are just normal words in Sekan. They can be left as they are, but they're often made shorter by cutting off a few letters or even a syllable. Let's take Almafyr, which means "smith." Almalak sakanam neka Almafyr y ti-keftath. In the end, the sentence means "I gained a bloody victory against Almafyr." Creating New Words in Sekan This lexicon is far from complete, and new words will be added over time. If you want to create some new words, here are a few guidelines. First, new words in Sekan are often mashups of old words. You can separate syllables and recombine them with other syllables to get new meanings. For instance, Rafan, which means "fire," can be combined with Selyn, which means "star" to make Sefan, which means "starfire." Always combine the first syllable of the primary word with the second syllable of the secondary word. Rafan '''and '''Selyn could also be combined to make Ralyn, which means "firestar." Second, as you may have noticed, each part of speech has different types of endings. Verbs end in "th." Nouns end in one of three endings: k,n, or r, depending on whether they refer to a place/idea (k), animal/object (n), or a person ®. Adjectives end in "m" Prepositions end in vowels. There can be a few exeptions to these rules. For instance, N'ek', which means "more," is an adjective, which would usually mean an "m" ending. Sounds to Avoid Don't use P, V, or U. Reptilian mouths don't make those sounds well at all. Category:Ancient Tongues Category:Languages of Esk